China correspondent for Fairfax Media

Beijing: Jaycee Chan, the son of kung fu mega-star Jackie Chan, has been arrested in Beijing on drug-related charges amid an anti-drug crackdown that has already netted thousands – including several celebrity scalps – in mainland China.

Beijing police confirmed on Monday that, acting on a tip-off, it had arrested the 32-year-old Chan on Thursday, along with his friend, 23-year-old Taiwanese movie star Kai Ko Chen-tung and other suspects.

Police said the bust, at Mr Chan’s home in Beijing’s Dongcheng district, uncovered more than 100 grams of marijuana, and that their urine tested positive for the drug.

News of their detention has caused a media sensation across Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China because of their high profile, with Mr Ko in particular achieving popularity among younger audiences for his roles in You Are the Apple of My Eye and the Tiny Times franchise.

Advertisement

The younger Chan, who was brought up in Los Angeles and is also known as Fang Zuming, followed his father into the entertainment industry but has made more headlines for a string of box office failures and a reportedly fraught relationship with his dad.

In April 2011, the elder Chan revealed he had written his son out of his will, saying he preferred to leave his wealth to charitable causes around the world instead.

“If he is capable, he can make his own money,” he told Singapore’s Channel NewsAsia. “If he is not, then he will just be wasting my money.”

Jackie Chan, who was appointed an official anti-drug ambassador by the Chinese government in 2009, has also previously pledged to report his son to police himself if he ever went astray, so he “gets sent to jail”.

The detention of Mr Chan and Mr Ko follows an announcement last week that 42 entertainment and performance agencies had struck an agreement, organised by the Beijing Trade Association for Performances, to boycott celebrities who take drugs. Popular actor Gao Hu, and screenwriter Ning Caishen, former panellist for popular dating show If You’re The One, have been among those arrested for drug offences in recent weeks.

But the broader context has been an edict from the central government, with President Xi Jinping calling for “forceful measures to wipe [drugs] out” just before the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26.

In Beijing, drug-related arrests between April and August were up 35 per cent from the same period last year.

Anecdotal reports of random drug busts at popular nightspots in Beijing have circulated in recent weeks, including instances where patrons, including expatriates and foreign tourists, have been forced to provide urine samples on the spot.

In its statement on Monday, Beijing police said more than 7800 people had been arrested on drug-related offences citywide.

“The scale and power of this ongoing mass campaign against drugs is evident,” it said.

Drug use is particularly high in border regions including Guangxi and Yunnan where trafficking is prevalent. But usage in China is growing especially fast among younger people inland – official news agency Xinhua said 75 per cent of new drug users in 2013 were under the age of 35.